Director Jon Favreau Reveals Iron Man Timeline (So Far)

02.05.10 by BJSprecher

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Ever since Robert Downey Jr. appeared as his Iron Man character, Tony Stark, at the end of The Incredible Hulk, comic book movie fans have been debating what order Marvel Studios will use for the movies leading up to The Avengers in 2012. Obviously, the release dates are all known at this time, but that doesn't mean that the events depicted in the movies will take place in the same order in the "shared universe" that Marvel is developing, which is at the heart of the debate.

The next movie in the Avengers "family" to debut is the highly anticipated Iron Man 2, set for release May 7th. From the trailer, Tony Stark seems to still be doing very much his own thing, with no hint of his involvement with the enigmatic spy organization S.H.I.E.L.D. or the Avengers — though he does have a wing man in War Machine (played by Don Cheadle). This has led many to the conclusion that Iron Man 2 will take place beforeThe Incredible Hulk, since Stark, in the aforementioned cameo, asks Gen. Ross (William Hurt), "What if I told you we were putting a team together?" implying that he is already involved with the creation of the Avengers.

Well, now the debate is over. At least, regarding the timeline of the Iron Man movies in relation to The Incredible Hulk. With a single word, director Jon Favreau cleared up all of the speculation in a Retweet to an inquiring fan:

Before. RT @ThiagoSiQueiraF: Just watched "The Incredible Hulk" Gotta ask you: Does "Iron Man 2" takes place before or after Hulk movie?

Of course, that still leaves a myriad amount of questions about how the upcoming Thor and Captain America will fit into The Avengers timeline...